The James River Heritage Trail in the Blackwater Creek Natural Area is one of the premier urban trails in the state, passing through lush forest as well as the heart of historic, industrial downtown...

Lick Run Greenway begins in downtown Roanoke and heads north just over 4 miles to end between Huff Lane Park and Valley View Mall. Along the way, the paved pathway traverses two parks: Washington Park...

The Roanoke River Greenway will one day span 25 miles between Roanoke and Salem along its namesake waterway. Currently, much of the paved pathway is already in place and runs through a wide variety of...

The Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail offers a quintessential rail-trail experience in central Virginia, midway between Lynchburg and Charlottesville (less than an hour’s drive from each). The trail...

Recent Trail Reviews

Chessie Nature Trail

Cow patties, road climb and...bear

We started at the Lexington end and the first part of the trail up to the first cow pasture was great—well maintained and highly trafficked with joggers and walkers. The cows were crowding the first gate, which meant a lot of poop. It was impossible to ride or walk the bikes and successfully navigate all the patties. The section of trail that follows the road is uphill traveling east, then a steep downhill gravel path to the trail. We made it a short way beyond the second cow pasture on the other side of rt. 631 when we encountered a mama bear and two cubs on the side of the trail. We rode close enough to determine it wasn’t cows or dogs, but far enough that we were able to turn around and speed back toward the gates. Appa
Turn around and sp

Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail

great trail

Flat, easy, and wear a swimsuit! The river is beautiful and begs for a swim. Note: there’s been some trail maintenance in the first mile (probably related to 6 weeks of rain), and the gravel is a bit deep in some sections. We have hybrids and were fine, just required a little attention.

Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail

Great Casual Ride!!

Nice nearly flat trail along the Piney River. Simple out and back for those that want an easy workout or have children and don't want to deal with crowds. Secluded and easy to navigate. I recommend for those that are nearby.

I drove here from Culpeper VA. Not sure I would go this distance for this ride again, but it was a good day for the wife and I to get some miles in the legs early in the season.

Chessie Nature Trail

Stop complaining.

This trail is very nice and honestly i don't understand why everyone is complaining. The cows don't care about you for the most part and even if they do they are just being curious. The Chessie trail doesn't own that farm and has no say as to what the farmer cares to keep in his field. The trail has also been made more bike accessible with small, person and bike sized gates so you don't have to lift bikes anymore.

Wolf Creek Greenway

Lovely Walk

I walk this trail often - it's very pretty, and the scenery varies, but most of it runs alongside Wolf Creek. It goes through sylvan areas, past some homes, crosses a couple of residential streets, passes a farm with animals grazing; the variation makes this fun. It's mostly level. Tall walkers will have to stoop in the tunnel that runs under a major roadway, though!

Chessie Nature Trail

Last Gate Obstacle On Chessie Finally Removed

For a couple of years now the Friends Of The Chessie Trail have been installing pedestrian/bike gates next to the large farm gates that were often difficult or impossible to open. The last pedestrian gate was recently installed on the Buena Vista end of the trail, and now you can bike from one end to the other without having to lift your bike over a gate.

There are still a couple of places where you will have to exercise care or dismount to go around one of the large gates. Those gates are at the Buena Vista trailhead and and at the South River. VMI has plans to replace those gates with bollards which will allow easy passage by pedestrians and cyclists. Hopefully we'll see action on this soon.

High Bridge Trail

Mt Bike Single Track

Yes, there is Single Track at High Bridge State Park. Two loops! One beginner and one advanced.

The Early Trail is a 1. 5 mile rolly flowy loop with no real technical trail features. But, there are surprises. First surprise is how sweet this loop flows. Second surprise was how some relatively simple looking sections really pushed the skills to ride at speed. Very tight in a couple spots and fast in others.

The Burnside Technical loop is 2.8 miles of constant something and a bit of everything. Over 300' of climbing for aerobic challenge intermingled with fast flow sections of berms and drop-thrus. A couple Roller Coasters that can throw you, so be careful.

The loops offer some delightful technical riding to the otherwise flat and boring rail trail. So, if MT biking is your thing and you are considering a family outing come out to Farmville and spend a day on the High Bridge Trail. The loops are located 1.5 miles East of the Farmville downtown plaza about half way towards the parking lot at River Road.

James River Heritage Trail (Blackwater Creek Natural Area)

Great trail packed w/ wonderful things to see!

Rode this trail in September. The trail is paved and a comfortable ride. Has so many great things to see on the ride! Beautiful bridges (one is a locks bridge where people have put various locks to represent marriage, friendships etc) , waterfall, awesome lighted tunnel, and a cancer memorial park at one end. This is a "rails to trail" trail and very neat! Loved the ride and scenery. Not hilly so a GREAT ride for families!

High Bridge Trail

Nice trail

Drove out from Colonial Heights. Started run in Farmville.
Trail nice, flat, marked well. However, a bit boring. Not much to see until bridge, 4+ miles from town. Bridge pretty cool. If in the area, take advantage of the ability to get some miles in.

Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail

Great family trail

We were very happy with this ride! Great trail for families with young children. Our 12-year old had fun and we were able to easily pull our daughter along in a bicycle trailer since the path is a nice smooth surface the entire way. Very scenic, saw lots of wildlife, and was able to stop and let the kids play in the river at the end!

Chessie Nature Trail

Gates and Cow "pies"!

We rode the trail today starting in Buena Vista. There was one locked gate that required us to hand our bikes over the cattle fence and several farm gates that were passable. At one location, there were about a dozen cows and a donkey that were "on" the trail, making passage difficult. Along this stretch of the trail, cattle are grazed and there were multiple places with fresh cow dung.

Chessie Nature Trail

Average Trail

I started in Lexington, first of all parking is very limited at this end and I didn't see any signs for parking. The first few miles are very nice with scenic views of the Maury River. Then I came upon a gate which you had to go through because the trail extends on private property. There was a cow lying next to the gate on the other side which made it impossible to open. On top of that there were other cows or steers lying on the trail and it was full of manure so I headed back. Doubt if I would do this trail again.